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20 Syrian soldiers killed in Deraa blasts

At least 20 government soldiers have been killed in twin explosions in the southern Syrian city of Deraa, activists report.

Two cars packed with explosives were detonated at a military camp on Saturday, killing and wounding "dozens", the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

State news agency SANA reported that two car bomb attacks had hit the city, causing casualties and significant damage, but provided no further details.

A third explosion later hit another military outpost in Deraa, causing no casualties, the Observatory said.

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No group has claimed responsibility for the bombings, but car bombs targeting the military have been a regular tactic of the various rebel groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad's army.

The opposition rebels have infiltrated in the past two months key areas in the capital Damascus, the northern western provinces and Daraa, showing they are now better equipped than before, according to activists.

Explosions targeting state security institutions have recently become frequent in and outside the capital Damascus, they added.

Government troops and insurgents also on Saturday fought fierce battles near the Syrian-Turkish border, prompting more civilians to flee into Turkey.

Heavy shelling and air raids were reported in the restive Syrian town of Maaret al-Noumaan and other rebel-held areas in the northern province of Idlib.

"Some 20,000 have fled areas near the Syrian-Turkish border in the past 24 hours," said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"Some of them managed to enter the Turkish territories. Others sought refuge in Kurdish areas inside Syria, which are fairly calmer," he told DPA.

A total of 50 people were killed across Syria on Saturday, including eight civilians near Damascus, reported the Observatory.

The opposition says that more than 37,000 people have been killed in Syria since the start of the uprising in March 2011. The figure could not be independently verified.

Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime Minister Nagib Mikati has approached several countries to help Lebanon cope with an increase in the number of Syrian refugees, a government official told DPA on condition of anonymity.

The Lebanese Social Affairs Ministry expects the number of Syrians registered as refugees in the country to rise from 150,000 to 200,000 soon, reported the Lebanese newspaper An Nahar,

Since Thursday, 9000 Syrians have crossed into Turkey, while 1000 each arrived in Lebanon and Jordan, said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.